Why I went: My study abroad experience was actually a
research trip funded by the UB Honors College Research and Creative
Activities Fund. I went to study agricultural development, but
ended up finding water issues more interesting and relevant to my
own life (coming from the North American Great Lakes Region).

Water issues I worked on while I was there: I helped set
up a co-op that provided farmers with emissions-free water pumps
for watering fields.

Why water caught my attention: I remember — I can
still see it — a very small, makeshift dam the farmers were
using. It was made of sticks and leaves and just a trickle of water
was coming through. Seeing all the livestock and people trying to
get water from this limited source got me interested in the
politics of water: who gets it, how to distribute it.

Another thing that fascinated me about Tanzania: I was
amazed by the emergence of mobile communication technologies in
even remote villages. Since 2007, mobile has been transforming
economic and human development across Africa.

What I’m doing now: My first trip to Tanzania
included an eight-hour layover in London. This gave me the chance
to take a peek at the city, which inspired me to apply to British
universities for grad school.

I'm finishing up a PhD at Oxford now. My dissertation looks at
how mobile payment options influence water provision in urban
areas. I've been back to East Africa at least five or six
times for research and work.

On Buffalo and Tanzania: Going abroad has given me a new
perspective on almost every issue we face in Western New York. I'm
hoping to apply mobile innovations from East Africa and ideas from
leading Oxford thinkers to challenges in Buffalo. The world holds
the solutions to Buffalo’s 21st-century problems. We just
have to go out and find them.

Connect with me: You can find me on Twitter at
@AKrolikowski.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: Going into undergrad, I knew that studying
abroad would be one of my main goals. I grew up in Buffalo and went
to school in Buffalo, so I wanted to see another part of the
world.

Choosing France: I went to France because UB had this
really good exchange program at a school called ENSEA — you
literally take all the same classes you would be taking at UB, so
you can study abroad without getting behind.

The classes were in English. I didn't know any French going in,
but I made French friends and took French after coming back to
UB.

The art of life: I loved experiencing another culture and
lifestyle. People there really value what they call the "art of
life," which means that you work hard, but that it's also important
to have time to relax.

I felt it was very different from the American lifestyle, which
is all about work.

People used to ask me, "What do you do for fun?" and I had to
think about it. I was always busy with homework and clubs. Now, in
grad school, I prioritize free time. I go for a walk or to a
café. I think it's important to have balance because you can
be more productive if you're a happier person.

Summer in Paris: I lived in Paris for a couple of months
the summer after I graduated.

It was pure vacation — I went with my best friend and
we had just finished college and were going to grad school, so it
was our congratulations trip. I introduced her to a friend in
France, and they're still dating.

What I'm doing now: My research at UC Berkeley deals with
solution-processable light-emitting diodes (LEDs). I'm making LEDs
out of polymers — flexible materials. I did research in
Israel last summer as part of my degree program.

The decision to study abroad was one of the best I made in my
life. When you're in a new place, you're unfamiliar with everything
and you learn to find your own way. I gained another level of
self-confidence, and the ability to feel comfortable in new
situations.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: Studying abroad changed my entire life. It
was amazing to experience new cultures, and to compare and contrast
life in other countries to life here in the United States. It was
just such a beautiful experience — something you can’t
just get in class.

Witnessing poverty: In Mexico, a lot of indigenous women
were moving from rural cities to bigger cities to make money. They
would sell bracelets and purses, and they faced a lot of
discrimination. There were language barriers, gender issues, and
also classism and racism.

Seeing the inequality really reinforced what I always knew I
wanted to do, which was to help people. Here were these women,
coming from poor villages to better their lives. Not everything is
perfect, but people really try to make things work for them
regardless of what system they’re living in.

In the classroom: I had some of the best professors. Not
only were they brilliant, but they were so down-to-earth and
willing to help students.

I took classes associated with the Caribbean and Mexican
culture, including archaeology, Caribbean literature and history.
For my thesis project, I made a film about Cuba and the social
impact that tourism had on the island from the 1980s to 2005.

It was just so fun and so interesting, and added so much to the
experience of living abroad.

Living in a convent: There are programs from other
universities where students stay in hotels, but we stayed in
regular neighborhoods. In Cuba, we stayed in an old convent, and in
Mexico, I stayed with a host family and then rented an apartment
with friends. People in both countries welcomed me with open arms.
They were very nurturing, happy people.

What I’m doing now: My experiences abroad confirmed
my passion for international development work and empowering
underserved communities.

Since 2005, I have been working in New York City, managing
programs focused on workforce development, education, housing and
financial education, while volunteering for organizations that
focus on immigration issues. I am also an adjunct instructor at a
local college, where I have taught Puerto Rican and American
history.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: I was a French major and wanted to develop my
proficiency.

Living in the French-speaking world: My study abroad
experience was great because I got to learn about several cultures.
They speak French in Quebec, and they’re really in tune with
the Francophone world. Many of my friends were from French-speaking
countries in West Africa.

Seeing the world from new perspectives: I was in Quebec
on Sept. 11, 2001, and took part in a peace march to the U.S.
Consulate. During the march, I started to understand certain things
that people were saying. That’s when I understood that it
wasn’t only a march for peace, but also a march against
American aggression.

I was stunned by this unexpected revelation. It didn’t
necessarily change my own views of the attacks, but it did make me
at least consider how others with different experiences may have
seen them.

Living abroad teaches you to look at situations in different
ways, to stand back and think about how others see things. That
helps me relate to people personally and at work.

Landing a Fulbright Scholarship: I was a Fulbrighter who
was largely influenced by study abroad. I had great professors at
UB who could tell I had an interest in learning about other
cultures, and they encouraged me to apply. I returned to Quebec for
my Fulbright.

The art of translation: After the Fulbright, I worked as
a program manager for a translation company. Part of the job
involved advising clients on how to be sensitive to marketing in
other cultures. One thing that comes to mind immediately: A deck
company wanted to use the phrase, “Are you all decked
out?” This is a great play on words in English, but it loses
its meaning once translated.

What I’m doing today: Studying abroad gives you
self-confidence — the ability to trust in yourself to figure
things out. These are useful skills in any field. At Unilever, I
work on business cases for innovations. When the company develops a
new product, I analyze its viability and justify why we would want
to launch it.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: The transition to an Asian-focused global
economy is an important factor to consider for my future. I sought
to prepare myself by gaining exposure through a short experience
beginning with Singapore.

On living in another country: The mere experience of
being in another country in another region was the best part.
Sharing classes with Singaporean students helped our group learn
about different cultures while collaborating on projects. Outside
of class, we were fortunate enough to also meet and experience
people of very diverse backgrounds.

My inspiration at UB: Paul Yong helped guide me to
Singapore. I’ve known him for several years and every group
he has taken to Singapore has only gotten better. His dedication to
his students and the quality of the Singapore program is
unmatched.

How study abroad influenced my future: My Singapore
experience reinforced my reasoning for pursuing a career focusing
on Asia, especially China. Being that Singapore is an international
trade and finance hub, I realized the importance of Chinese and
China in the future economy. Immediately after graduation in 2010,
I went to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, to learn Mandarin.
I worked at a communications consultancy for two years afterward,
finally returning to New York City in 2012.

A global focus: Whatever they decide to pursue, UB
students should realize that their future endeavors are no longer
contained within U.S. borders. Study abroad programs are truly
invaluable experiences that will open eyes and expose students to
ideas, people and cultures that will only further their
understanding of the world. I believe UB study abroad programs help
add a perspective to students’ lives that will help better
shape their choices, with the world in mind.

Why do study abroad?: Studying abroad with UB allows many
students to take their first step toward their understanding of
another part of the world. The mix of education and fun gives
students a well-rounded experience that, I feel, they’ll keep
with them for the rest of their lives.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: My freshman year, I watched the film "Hotel
Rwanda" as part of the United Nations Student Alliance. It dealt
with the genocide in Rwanda. The fact that such an atrocity took
place while I was alive and I knew nothing of it was the catalyst
for studying in Tanzania, where I was able to observe the U.N.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

After that first program, I was hooked. I went to the Study
Abroad office expressing interest in spending my junior year
abroad. My study abroad adviser helped coordinate back-to-back
programs in Oxford and Prague, where I was able to study
colonization and democratization movements, respectively.

I thought it would be an opportunity for me to learn about a
different country, but I learned just as much about myself.

Thinking beyond America: We spend much of our adolescence
being taught who we are as Americans and what that means in terms
of our responsibility to our country. Study abroad introduced
me to a broader layer of citizenship, invoking a sense of
responsibility to a global citizenry.

I changed my intended major to anthropology and international
studies. About half of my degree program took place abroad.
I’m just so appreciative of UB — other universities
don’t make it as easy to integrate education abroad into
students’ degrees.

I come from a blue-collar family, and these experiences gave me
the confidence to say, "You know, I’m going to do my
master’s at Harvard." I got into the international education
policy program and graduated summa cum laude in 2011.

The State Department and beyond: When I came back from
studying abroad, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything
else but helping other students experience the world. After
Harvard, I held a short-term assignment at the U.S. Embassy in
Swaziland, promoting exchanges between students from Swaziland and
the U.S.

Now, I coordinate African, Middle Eastern and French study
abroad programs at the University of South Florida.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: I went at the end of my senior year, and
extended my stay for close to three months or thereabouts. For me,
it was an opportunity to experience, live, study and learn in
another culture. The history of architecture in Barcelona was
extraordinary.

Provocative design: One thing that comes to mind often in
Barcelona are the works of Antoni Gaudí, the famous Spanish
architect, who employed geometric patterning heavily in his designs
in a lucid and organic manner. Even though I appreciated his design
sensibility in terms of the spatial qualities and interesting
lines, I was able to understand his work much more in depth by
actually having been there.

Seeing such distinctive designs in person makes you a bit more
in tune with your own work — helping you understand your own
sensibilities and be a little more provocative in some sense.

A lasting influence on design: The great works I saw in
Barcelona have traveled with me through my professional experience
in the sense that they affect the way that I view things when it
comes to design and culture.

My office has just completed the NYU-DC academic building in
Washington, D.C., and while most of the building profile is very
orthogonal, the main façade has a series of undulating glass
fins that add much fluidity to the façade from varying
points of view.

Obviously, while not a close comparison to any of
Gaudí’s work, the underlying precept was of engaging a
thoughtful, rigorous geometric system that allowed itself to be
experienced from multiple vantage points.

Study abroad advice: I would encourage every student,
whether it’s in architecture or in another department, to
study abroad because it really elevates your way of thinking, and
your understanding of other cultures.

To experience the culture and art of any foreign country that
one goes to is an amazing experience. When you see it firsthand,
you feel it, and it really drives the fire or passion within you in
terms of what it is that you are studying.

For me, Barcelona was a good place to do that. There are many
other options, depending on what your interests are.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: I was studying the Japanese language at UB
and translating the autobiography of a famous Japanese boxer. So I
got the idea that I wanted to live there. I was awarded the
Monbukagakusho Scholarship, which made it possible.

In Japanese gyms: For my dissertation at UB, I collected
the life stories of boxers. I had trained with and interviewed
boxers in Buffalo and Brooklyn, and began doing the same in Japan.
I found it very interesting to compare Japanese and American
boxers, to find out how they found meaning in their lives through
boxing.

In America, it was easy to get boxers to tell me their stories,
even if I didn’t know them. But in Japan, it was harder. Over
there, a gym is like a club or family — when you go to the
gym, you join it and belong to it for your whole career. Boxers
rarely change gyms. To gain access to the stories, I had to join
the family, so I spent a lot of time at the gym. After some years,
I became a trainer and, eventually, a judge.

A long time away: I liked being in another world, another
culture. I found it inspiring and exciting — I had never
lived in another country or gotten around in another language.

I ended up staying for seven years, earning a degree from Kobe
University before returning to UB.

Back to Asia: After I graduated from UB, I looked for
jobs in Asia as well as America, which I probably would not have
done if I hadn’t studied abroad. I received an offer from
Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and have been teaching
there ever since.

What I’m doing now: I teach creative writing,
literature and film at Yonsei University’s Underwood
International College.

Dream Writing: Three years ago I advised a student who
wrote his thesis on birth dreams, or taemong. These occur
when someone has a dream foretelling the birth of a child. Birth
dreams are important in Korea; almost everyone has one. This
reawakened a lifelong interest I had in dreams, so I started
reading more about it. As a result, I recently started teaching a
class called “Dream Writing.”

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: Our master’s program required us to do
two semesters in a foreign country. I chose Cuba for both. I also
had the privilege of serving as a teaching assistant for a summer
study abroad program there.

How Cuba inspired me: In Cuba, education is highly
regarded. It’s not about getting a good job and making a lot
of money, but about enriching the culture and the minds of the
people. That helped me realize that I wanted to teach, to make a
difference in people’s lives, whether there’s money
involved or not.

My book: I have traveled more than ever as a result of
studying abroad, visiting Europe and South America and traveling
throughout the United States and Caribbean.

I’m writing a children's book that captures those
experiences. It’s in the final stage of art and will be
self-published.

The world through Jupu’s eyes of Jupu the puffin:
The book is told from the perspective of a puffin named Jupu, a
little bird from Maine, who swims and flies throughout the Western
hemisphere.

The story teaches the geography of the Americas. Jupu meets
birds from different countries and eats new fruits. He tries
guanabana in Puerto Rico, mangoes in the Dominican Republic. A map
illustrates where he has been.

Understanding that there are cultures outside of your own is the
first step toward tolerance. The book teaches the reader the term
"Usonian," which I learned while studying abroad. It refers to
U.S. citizens, since the term "American" is for everyone in the
western hemisphere (the Americas).

My full-time job: I am director of support programs for
Mercy Home, a nonprofit agency in Brooklyn serving persons with
developmental disabilities and their families.

In Cuba, resources for people with special needs were not at the
forefront of people’s thinking when I was there. Wheelchair
accessibility was lacking.

Everywhere I went, there would be staircases or narrow
passageways leading to places like a beautiful hall where you would
overlook the ocean, eat a wonderful meal. I just kept thinking how
not everybody would have access to these spaces. Seeing these
things inspired me to live a life of service. It’s why I
chose my career.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: Adventure was a major driver. I was excited
to get away from the United States for a while and see what life
was like somewhere else.

New friends, new cultures: Once I was there, I was in an
apartment complex with students from all over the world. We had
Americans and Germans, and then just across the way there were
students from Finland, South Africa, Israel and Asia.

I had the chance to bond with people of all these different
nationalities. The experience opened my eyes.

A growing interest in Asia: I got to know some Malaysians
and Chinese. Asia at the time was a big mystery to me. My grandma
still pictures China during the Mao Zedong era, and I had no
personal experience to balance that.

Meeting people who lived there helped me understand that we had
a lot in common, and that there were opportunities there. It made
me pay attention to Asia in the following years.

Moving to China: After college, I worked for AmeriCorps
in Minnesota. I was taking business classes on the side, and some
of my professors did work in Asia. At the same time, China was
always popping up in the news, and I would read about it because I
knew people there.

My wife and I began looking into how we could go to Asia and
found that teaching English would be the easiest way.

We lived in Qingdao, China for two years. We ate everything the
Chinese did. We learned the language and just really immersed
ourselves in the experience. I worked for a Chinese biotech
company, doing their online advertising. The knowledge of Chinese
culture and business is something I’ll always carry with me
and hope to use even more in the future.

What I’m doing now: M&T’s Executive
Associate (EA) Program is a management development program where
they train you to understand all areas of the bank. I work in the
Marketing Analytics Department.

I definitely think my international experience helped set me
apart from other EA candidates. They look at EAs as change agents,
so they’re looking for somebody who has a diversity of
experiences, who can approach problems with a fresh thought
process.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Why I went: I studied abroad as an undergraduate, and
felt that going abroad again in a graduate program would enhance my
teaching.

Living abroad brings to life everything that you’re
teaching, so that when you’re standing in front of a class,
you have current, firsthand knowledge of the language, culture and
political panorama of a particular country.

I remember attending the famous festival of Santiago de
Compostela, which takes place in July. It’s a religious
festival. You see so many people there, including foreigners
who make the pilgrimage to see the shrine of St. James the
Great.

Other memories include listening to the University of Salamanca
La Tuna group. A tuna is a group of university students who
play guitar and sing serenades.

‘An eye of your face’ and other idioms: I
lived with a family in Salamanca, which is an invaluable
opportunity because you are totally immersed in the language and
culture.

Every language has idiomatic expressions. Until you are really
immersed, you cannot pick up the nuances, the double-entendres. For
example, we say in English that something will cost you "an arm and
a leg," but in Spanish, it’s "an eye of your face."

Returning to Spain: In Salamanca, I met another graduate
student from Buffalo. One or two summers later, we returned to
Spain and rented a car and we drove the entire Iberian Peninsula,
Spain and Portugal, for 30 days. We wanted to see everything.

Spain is a lifelong connection now. I have good friends in
Spain, and I used to take students there for summer travel. We
would go to Madrid, to Sevilla, Malaga, and yes, Salamanca, and
Toledo.

I still cook Spanish recipes. There’s a Spanish sausage
called chorizo, and, of course, paella, which I learned to make
mainly from a family I lived with in Madrid during postgraduate
studies.

What I’m doing now: I retired from teaching in 2010
after 30 years with the Horseheads Central School District.
Throughout my career and schooling, I was exposed to museums and
art history and different cultures. I now do my own drawing,
painting and digital work. For me, art is language, and language is
communication. Art is another way to communicate and connect.

Study Abroad

UB offers study abroad opportunities in 30 countries, along with
access to more than 550 other SUNY programs. Eleven percent of our
undergraduates study abroad — five times the national
average.

Find out more about how you can study abroad, whether
you’re an architect who would like to spend the summer in the
parks, cafés and museums of Barcelona, or an engineer who
would like to experience university life in France.

Aaron Krolikowski saw Tanzania for the
first time in the summer of 2007.

A UB undergraduate, he was there to study water and agriculture
in rural villages. Fascinated by the sight of cellphones in remote
locations, Krolikowski went on to research mobile technologies as a
PhD student at Oxford University. The topic of his dissertation:
How the proliferation of mobile devices is influencing water
distribution in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hundreds of UB students study abroad each year, and for many,
it’s an experience that changes not only their perspective of
the world, but also what they do with their careers. Each dot on
the map represents a UB graduate whose time abroad influenced his
or her direction in life. Click to see their stories.